Meatballs (film): Difference between revisions

| producer = [[JohnDaniel Dunning (film producer)|John Dunning]]Goldberg

'''''Meatballs''''' is a 1979 Canadian [[comedy film]] directed by [[Ivan Reitman]]. It is noted for [[Bill Murray]]'s first film appearance in a starring role and for launching the directing career of Reitman, whose later comedies includedinclude ''[[Stripes (film)|Stripes]]'' (1981) and ''[[Ghostbusters]]'' (1984), both starring Murray.

The film was the highest-grossing Canadian film of all time in the United States and Canada, winning the [[Golden Screen Award (Canada)|Golden Reel Award]]. It wasis the first of six film collaborations between Murray and [[Harold Ramis]] and severalfew [[sequel]]s, of which only ''[[Meatballs III: Summer Job]]'' (1986) had any connection to the original.

Tripper Harrison leads a group of new counsellors-in-training (CITs) at Camp North Star, a cut-rate [[summer camp]] located in [[Ontario]], and leads practical jokes on camp director Morty Melnick (called Mickey by everyone, a play on [[Mickey_Mouse_universe#Mortimer_Mouse|Mortimer Mouse]]), mainly by taking Melnick from his cabin late at night so that he awakens in unusual places.

Rudy Gerner, a lonely boy whose mother died about a year earlier, is sent to summer camp by his [[workaholic]] father, but decides to run away. Noticing Rudy is lacking self-confidence, Tripper tracks him to a nearby bus station and takes him under his wing. They rapidly bond as friends after many morning jogs. Tripper helps Rudy gain confidence while Rudy encourages the reluctant Tripper to startstarting a romance with Roxanne, the girls' head counsellor. Many of the CITs also find romance: Candace "kidnaps" Crockett in a speedboat and confesses her feelings for him, while Wheels, who had broken up with A.L. the year before, successfully rekindles their relationship during a dance, and the nerdy Spaz falls for the [[tomboy]] Jackie.

During the first day of competition, Mohawk dominates North Star, often winning by cheating. Crockett fails to clear the high jump bar, Hardware gets pummelled in boxing, and Jackie suffers a broken legankle in [[field hockey]], thanks to the dirty work of two Mohawk girls. The score at the end of Day One is: Mohawk 170, North Star 63. That evening at the North Star Lodge, Tripper rouses the demoralized campers by explaining that victory or defeat is unimportant. In unison, Camp North Star begins to chant, "It just doesn't matter!" Day Two of the Olympiad belongs to newly inspired North Star as they win every event. Wheels outwrestles his opponent, Spaz defeats Rhino in a stacking contest with inspiration from Jackie and a thwarted Mohawk cheating attempt, and, after 12 years of North Star defeats, Fink finally beats "The Stomach" in the Frankfurter/WienerHot Dog-eating contest. North Star now trails by only 10 points with one event left, a four-mile [[cross country running|cross country run]] for 20 points. Tripper offers to select a surprised Rudy to compete against Horse, Mohawk's star runner. Rudy's many mornings spent jogging and training with Tripper pay off as he wins the race, giving North Star its first Olympiad victory by a score of 230–220.

Later that evening, Morty, Tripper, Roxanne, and the CITs sing around a campfire and say their final goodbyes as the camp prepares to close at the end of summer. Rudy has already decided to return to camp next year and Roxanne agrees to live with Tripper. The two ride off on Tripper's motorcycle, leading the buses out of camp and leaving Morty behind, in bed, on a raft in the middle of the lake.

* [[BillHarvey MurrayAtkin]] as 'Tripper'Morty Harrison"Mickey" Melnick

* [[Sarah Torgov]] as Candace

* [[Jack Blum]] as '"Spaz'"

* [[Keith Knight (actor)|Keith Knight]] as Larry '"Fink'" Finkelstein

* Todd Hoffman as '"Wheels'"

* [[Matt Craven]] as '"Hardware'" Renzetti (billed as Matt Cravenn)

* Norma Dell’AgneseDell'Agnese as Brenda

[[Harold Ramis]] said that Reitman did not know for certain whether Murray would be in the moviefilm until he showed up for the third day of filming.<ref name="GQ">{{cite journal |last=Martin |first=Brett |date=July 2009 |title=Harold Ramis Gets the Last Laugh |journal=[[GQ]] |pages=64–67, 124–25 |url=http://men.style.com/gq/features/full?id=content_9558&pageNum=3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090701134926/http://men.style.com/gq/features/full?id=content_9558&pageNum=3 |archive-date=2009-07-01 |access-date=2009-06-22 |quote= Bill left Ivan hanging, though. Ivan didn’t know if he was going to be there until the day they started shooting.}}</ref> [[Eddie Deezen]] was approached to play Spaz but declined as he was already committed to ''[[1941 (film)|1941]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.roguecinema.com/article667.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715200513/http://www.roguecinema.com/article667.html | archive-date=2011-07-15 | title=An Interview with Eddie Deezen - by James L. Neibaur - Rogue Cinema }}</ref>

Filming took place at [[Camp White Pine]], on Hurricane Lake, between [[Dysart et al, Ontario#Communities|Haliburton and West Guilford, Ontario]], in August–September 1978.<ref name=MeatPine>{{cite news |url=https://torontosun.com/2014/05/31/meatballs-celebrates-35th-anniversary-with-a-reunion/wcm/e3d88ce9-e6d2-4d58-9f41-4f113ddbb7ad |title='Meatballs' celebrates 35th anniversary with a reunion |first=Jim |last=Slotek |worknewspaper=[[Toronto Sun]] |date=2014-05-31 |access-date=2019-07-06}}</ref>

Review aggregation website [[Rotten Tomatoes]] gives the film a score of 7273% based on 3637 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads,: "''Meatballs'' is a summer camp comedy with few surprises, but Bill Murray's riffing adds a spark that sets it apart from numerous subpar entries in a frequently uninspired genre".<ref name="tomatoes">{{rotten-tomatoes|meatballs|Meatballs}} [[Flixster]]</ref>

[[Vincent Canby]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote, "With far fewer high spirits than ''[[Animal House]],'', and only two characters of any interest, ''Meatballs'' reveals itself to be a loud, off-key cry for conformism of a most disappointing sort. It's a sheep in wolf's clothing."<ref>Canby, Vincent (July 3, 1979). [https://www.nytimes.com/1979/07/03/archives/screen-bill-murray-in-meatballs-our-gang-formula.html "Screen: Bill Murray in 'Meatballs'".] ''[[The New York Times]]''. C10.</ref> [[Dale Pollock]] of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote,: "Record of tv stars making the transition to feature films is spotty overall, but Bill Murray proves a welcome exception to the rule. The ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' regular manages to sock over ''Meatballs'' with amazing vitality and elan."<ref>Pollock, Dale (June 27, 1979). "Film Reviews: Meatballs". ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]''. 18.</ref>

[[Gene Siskel]] of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' gave the film 2.5 stars out of 4four, and stated that it "is pleasant as can be, but there's hardly a belly laugh in it. Murray plays a nice guy counselor who befriends a lonely camper. It's all very sweet, but funny? Not particularly."<ref>Siskel, Gene (August 20, 1979). "'Meatballs'—not enough gusto for a main course". ''[[TheChicago New York TimesTribune]]''. Section 4, p. 2.</ref> [[Kevin Thomas (film critic)|Kevin Thomas]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' called the film "a fast, funny sendup of summer-camp life" that "is not as all-out raunchy as ''Animal House''—but it's hilarious in a similar blissfully uncomplicated and nutty way."<ref>Thomas, Kevin (July 8, 1979). "Was Summer Camp Ever Like This?" ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Calendar, p. 26.</ref> Gary Arnold of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' wrote,: "''Meatballs'' is as tartly, unpretentiously funny as its title ... As the senior boys' counselor, an easygoing role model and spontaneous comic genius, Bill Murray of ''Saturday Night Live'' makes a deceptively sensational debut as a film comedy star."<ref>Arnold, Gary (July 11, 1979). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/1979/07/11/animal-house-goes-to-camp/3594f6a0-e7de-4279-968c-570906c1182e/ "'Animal House' Goes to Camp".] ''[[The Washington Post]]''. B1.</ref> [[Jack Kroll]] of ''[[Newsweek]]'' remarked that "this film has almost none of the scraggy, raunchy, irreverent anarchy that gave ''Animal House'' a kind of perverse anti-style. There's nothing at all perverse about ''Meatballs''; in fact, it's so cutesy, squeaky-clean that it becomes [[Andy Hardy]] with a few extra belches."<ref>Kroll, Jack (July 9, 1979). "Animal Houses's Kid Brother". ''[[Newsweek]]''. 68.</ref>

The film was a surprise hit. It opened in seven theatres in Toronto and grossed $105,635 in its first four days.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=Are you ready for the summer? Are you ready for the biggest comedy hit of the year? (advertisement)|date=July 4, 1979|pages=13–15}}</ref> A week later, it opened on 93 screens in New York, grossing $1.5 million for the week and placing fifth at the US box office.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title='Meatballs' Nourishing N.Y.; 'Moonraker', $1,000,000, In 29; 'Frisco Kid' 1st Week, $35,000|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-07-11_295_10/page/8|date=July 11, 1979|page=8}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=50 Top-Grossing Films|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-07-18_295_11/page/9|date=July 18, 1979|page=9}}</ref> It grossed $17.9 million in its first 17 days of national release.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Daily Variety]]|date=August 6, 1979|page=1|title=Par's Rolling in '79 Fiscal Green|last=Pollock|first=Dale}}</ref> The film was the first Canadian film to gross more than $2.5 million in Canada, surpassing 1970's ''[[Two Women in Gold|Deux femmes en or]]'', to become the highest-grossing film of all- time, with a gross of $4.2 million, winning the [[Golden Screen Award (Canada)|Golden Reel Award]] for the year.<ref name=can>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=November 21, 1979|page=46|title='Meatballs': Canadian Coup Could Gross $50,000,000}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=November 21, 1979|title=Canada-Only B.O. Figures|page=24}}</ref> It also became the highest-grossing Canadian film in the United States,<ref name=can/> with a combined gross of $43 million in the United States and Canada.<ref name=mojo>{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=meatballs.htm|title=Box Office Information for Meatballs |publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date=January 28, 2012}}</ref> It was also the highest-grossing film in the US without any US investment at the time until surpassed by ''[[Chariots of Fire]]'' in 1982.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=July 7, 1982|title='Chariots of Fire' Becomes Top Import Pic In U.S. B.O. History|page=1|last=Cohn|first=Lawrence}}</ref> The film earnedgrossed $70 million worldwide.<ref name="los"/>

The film's score was written by [[Elmer Bernstein]] and several musicians also contributed to the soundtrack, including [[Mary MacGregor]] (performing "Good Friend"), [[David Naughton]] (performing "[[Makin' It (song)|Makin' It]]", which served as the theme for his [[Makin' It (TV series)|title sitcom]], which was cancelled before the film's release), and [[Rick Dees|Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots]] (performing the title theme "Meatballs"). "Good Friend" and "Makin' It" made the Billboard and Cashbox pop charts (see below).

* Good Friend (by [[Mary MacGregor]]) (''Billboard'' number 39) / Rudy and Tripper (dialogue from film) -- RSO 938—1979

# "[[Makin' It (song)|Makin' It]]" – [[David Naughton]]

# "Meatballs" – [[Rick Dees]]

''Meatballs'' was first released on [[DVD]] in 1999 by [[HBO]] (although [[Paramount Pictures]] was behind the original theatrical release and the first [[VHS]] and [[SelectaVision]] release in the 1980s, and also continues to hold international video rights.) [[Sony Pictures Entertainment]] issued a special-edition DVD (with an anamorphic transfer, a [[audio commentary|director's commentary]], and a "Making of" featurette) on June 5, 2007. The sequels did not receive the same treatment of re-release. However, [[Lionsgate]] released the [[Blu-ray]] on June 12, 2012 and the DVD reissue on February 22, 2022, which retains the commentary from the Sony DVD but not the featurette.

* {{AmgAllMovie title|31994|Meatballs}}